LAS VEGAS (AP) — NASCAR held a second consecutive meeting with its Cup drivers to discuss their safety concerns with the new Next Gen car and promised to continue the sessions for the remaining month of the season.
Saturday's meeting at Las Vegas Motor Speedway lasted 75 minutes, the same length as last week's contentious session at Charlotte Motor Speedway. NASCAR had a lengthy slide presentation for the drivers since the one at Charlotte was halted when the meeting deteriorated into an emotional confrontation between drivers and NASCAR leadership.
Several drivers last week likened the Charlotte meeting to an episode of “Seinfeld” as it became “an airing of grievances.” The Las Vegas meeting was much calmer and NASCAR was able to complete presentation, which was expanded to include information from questions raised by the drivers at Charlotte.
Although the Las Vegas meeting was optional, NASCAR said it was well-attended despite “some notables” who were not present. The Associated Press confirmed that Kevin Harvick, one of the most outspoken drivers about the Next Gen, was present for the Las Vegas meeting.
“I'm still standing,” a smiling Brad Keselowski said as he exited the meeting room Saturday.
Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman both suffered concussions in what should have been routine crashes. Both drivers were injured when the rear of their car hit the wall.
Because the Next Gen was built to be durable, drivers have complained the rear is way too stiff and the drivers are absorbing far too much energy from impacts. Bowman has missed two races already and said he'll be out at least the next three, while Busch said Saturday after missing 13 consecutive races he will be stepping away from full time racing.
NASCAR thinks it has a fix for the rigidness of the rear of the Next Gen, with changes possible by the start of next season.
Corey LaJoie, who has sided with NASCAR in its development of the Next Gen, said NASCAR told the drivers at Charlotte that design changes it tested “takes about 50% of the G-load away on a rear impact.”
“You can always say we should have done it faster,” LaJoie said on his podcast “Stacking Pennies."
“But this stuff takes time. It’s not like NASCAR is just sitting on its hands, waiting for another guy to get hurt. Nobody is at more of a risk or detriments to seeing their competitors hurt than NASCAR is. When we were designing this car, safety was above and beyond every other checkpoint.”
There are four races remaining this season with the Next Gen — including Sunday at Las Vegas to open the third round of the playoffs.
WDUN will carry live PRN Radio coverage of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 from Las Vegas Motor Speedway beginning at 1:30 pm on 102.9 FM and streaming live on AccessWDUN.
NASCAR Cup Series
Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, NV
South Point 400 – October 16, 2022
Sunday's Starting Lineup
1. 8 Tyler Reddick ALSCO Chevrolet 29.252 184.603
2. 2 Austin Cindric # Autotrader Ford 29.302 184.288
3. 24 William Byron (P) RaptorTough.com Chevrolet 29.344 184.024
4. 12 Ryan Blaney (P) Menards/Knauf Ford 29.354 183.961
5. 22 Joey Logano (P) Pennzoil Ford 29.400 183.673
6. 99 Daniel Suarez Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk Chevrolet 29.469 183.243
7. 20 Christopher Bell (P) Rheem – Opteon Toyota 29.474 183.212
8. 21 Harrison Burton # DEX Imaging Ford 29.523 182.908
9. 45 Bubba Wallace McDonald’s Toyota 29.665 182.033
10. 3 Austin Dillon BssProShops/TRACKEROffRd Chevrolet 29.711 181.751
11. 1 Ross Chastain (P) Tootsies Orchid Lounge Chevrolet 29.468 183.250
12. 17 Chris Buescher Castrol Ford 29.495 183.082
13. 4 Kevin Harvick GEARWRENCH Ford 29.509 182.995
14. 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 29.517 182.945
15. 34 Michael McDowell Love’s Travel Stops Ford 29.606 182.395
16. 14 Chase Briscoe (P) Code 3 Associates Ford 29.617 182.328
17. 48 Noah Gragson(i) Ally/Koker’s Garage Chevrolet 29.626 182.272
18. 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 29.634 182.223
19. 23 Ty Gibbs(i) MoneyLion Toyota 29.638 182.199
20. 9 Chase Elliott (P) Hooters Chevrolet 29.656 182.088
21. 16 A.J. Allmendinger(i) Celsius Chevrolet 29.658 182.076
22. 43 Erik Jones FOCUSfactor Chevrolet 29.667 182.020
23. 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 29.693 181.861
24. 41 Cole Custer Feeding America/Wow Wow Ford 29.720 181.696
25. 6 Brad Keselowski King’s Hawaiian Ford 29.743 181.555
26. 15 J.J. Yeley(i) ConectUS Kyocera Ford 29.847 180.923
27. 19 Martin Truex, Jr. Bass Pro Shops Toyota 29.857 180.862
28. 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 29.918 180.493
29. 47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. Kona Brewing Co Big Wave Chevrolet 29.947 180.319
30. 7 Corey LaJoie OpTic Gaming Chevrolet 29.982 180.108
31. 11 Denny Hamlin (P) FedEx Office Toyota 30.001 179.994
32. 77 Landon Cassill(i) Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet 30.063 179.623
33. 42 Ty Dillon Lucky 29 Vodka Chevrolet 30.307 178.177
34. 51 Cody Ware Nurtec ODT UBCF Ford 30.378 177.760
35. 38 Todd Gilliland # Ruedebusch Dev. & Construction Ford 30.386 177.713
36. 78 B.J. McLeod(i) Pala Casino Spa Resort Ford 30.581 176.580
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (P) Playoff driver
